, an 8.5-mile light-rail line that will run between the Expo Line on Exposition Boulevard and the Green Line. The design/build contract will include both the Leimert Park and Hindry Stations.

Walsh/Shea is a joint venture between Walsh Construction and J.F. Shea Company. The joint venture was one of four firms that submitted proposals for the contract. LACMTA staff in evaluating the proposals gave Walsh/Shea the highest technical score for the lowest price.

Walsh/Shea has collaborated on many other rail projects in the United States, including the Dallas Area Rapid Transit system in Dallas, Texas, as well as systems in Phoenix, Ariz., Charlotte, N.C., and Chicago, Ill.

The coard also approved an additional $160 million in contingency funds for the project for a total project budget of $2.058 billion, which includes the fixed guidway, Leimert Park and Hindry stations, new rail cars, a rail maintenance yard, real estate acquisition, the cost of planning and designing the line and other associated construction costs.

Utility relocation work is underway with heavy construction set to begin spring 2014. Completion is expected by 2019.

The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor Project will serve the Crenshaw Corridor, Inglewood, Westchester and the LAX area with eight stations, a maintenance facility, park-ride lots, traction power substations and the acquisition of rail vehicles and maintenance equipment.